what exactly is a mole of a substance? thanks

Welcome to the forum,

A mole is a quantity of the molecule you are talking about. One mole is equal to: 6.0221367 x 1023 molecules, which is Avogadro's constant.

So, if you have 10 moles of a substance, you have 10 x 6.0221367 x 1023 molecules of it.

Avogadro's number corresponds to the atomic weight of said atom or molecule into grams. One mole of helium atoms - helium has an atomic weight of four (two protons, two neutrons) - weighs four grams. One mole of carbon weighs 12 grams. One mole of oxygen weighs 32 grams (16 grams per atom, two atoms in molecule). And for etymology's sake, what do you call a tiny piece of a mole? A mole-cule ...

the mole concept is very confusing for most students when they start learning chemistry, so dont feel bad!

just think of a it as a unit. just a dozen

a dozen means 12 right? but 12 what? does it have to be eggs? no it does not. a dozen can mean 12 of ANYTHING, so a dozen chairs, a dozen cats, a dozen laptops, they all mean the same thing: that you have 12 of whatever

same thing with a mole. it means you have 6.0223 X 10^23 of something

if you a mole of jeans, you have 6.0223 X 10^23 of jeans, a mole of cats means you have 6.0223 X 10^23 of cat; a mole of m&ms means you have 6.0223 X 10^23 of m&m's

a mole of zinc means you have 6.0223 X 10^23 of zinc atoms/zinc molecules/etc
a mole of silver chloride means you have 6.0223 X 10^23 of silver chloride atoms/molecules/etc

Thank you so much both answers were helpful (but understanding it as an unit makes sense) thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

Yeah, it's already been said, but 6.023 x 10^23 entities of a substance (atoms, ions, etc)